It has been a rough few weeks for athletes, coaches and fans as numerous sports leagues have been canceled, moved,  or put on hold due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. There was mostly good news out of Mississippi on Tuesday as the state’s High School Activities Association voted to hold the fall sports season with only a slight delay.

The MHSAA Executive Committee voted for a two-week delay on Tuesday. For high school football in Mississippi, that means practices will now begin on Aug. 17 with regular-season play opening Sept. 4.

“The board felt these changes will give all of us more time to try to get back into the routine of school,” MHSAA Executive Committee President Kalvin Robinson said in a release. “There are going to be many challenges — ones we’re anticipating and those we don’t even know about yet — in returning to on-campus learning. It’s going to be different than what we’ve experienced in the past. Hopefully pushing back the start of the Fall sports seasons will help make that transition a little smoother for everyone involved.”

While the MHSAA is planning on a season, the delay does mean that games scheduled for the first two weeks of the season will not be made up. The football playoff and championship dates will not be changed according to the release.